He shifted, trying to get more comfortable and failing. His body was too damaged for that.
“I wouldn’t believe everything The Church said about me if I was you. They wasn’t exactly right in the head.” He tapped his temple as if to emphasize his point. “The High Priestess was a touch crazy, if I’m bein’ honest.”
“Not from them.” The woman waved a gnarled hand in the air before returning it to her cane, her fingers tightening on the ball. “We had a few mutual friends. Brady and Ava. Jim.”
Angus sat up straighter, this time barely registering the throbbing in his body. “You knew them?”
“I met Jim after getting away from the men who were trying to take me to the CDC. My husband—” She swallowed like talking about him hurt, and Angus could see the pain he felt whenever he thought of Parv reflected in her eyes. “He was sick, and Jim brought us antibiotics. It saved Kellan’s life.”
Angus let out a grunt of approval. “Jim was real good at gettin’ things.”
“Yes,” she said. “And he introduced me to Brady and Ava. I never saw Jim again, but Brady and Ava lived with us for years.” She let out a long, tired breath. “They’re gone now, though. Like so many other people.”
Once again, Angus saw his own grief mirrored in his face. She was younger than he was, but probably not by much. He realized that of everyone still alive in this world, this woman might be one of the few people who understood what he’d been through.
“I suppose I should apologize,” she said then. “Naya assured me you were trustworthy, but your story seemed too far-fetched to be true. It’s why I came alone. Why we’ve kept you separated from the general population.”
“General population?” Angus repeated.
The woman’s gaze moved to the door. “A great many of us live here, but I’m the last from before. The last person who remembers anything about what the world was like before the zombies came.”
“Not the last,” Angus said.
This time when she looked at him, there was a ghost of a smile on her lips. “Apparently not.” Then her shoulders seemed to slump, and she let out a deep breath. “You must forgive an old woman. It takes very little to wear me out these days, and I need to take my leave. I’ll be sure to send the doctor in to look you over.” Her gaze flicked back to him. “And the girl. Naya.”
A rush of feeling swept through Angus at the thought of seeing her. It was almost fatherly, which didn’t really take him by surprise so much as overwhelm him. They’d only known each other for a short time, but in this world of horror, bonds formed fast, and already he looked at the girl as something more than a traveling companion.
“I’d like to see her,” he said, emotion making his voice gravelly.
As if the woman recognized it, her expression softened even more. “She’ll be happy to see you, too. She’s been worried about you.”
She took one step toward the door before Angus called out, “You never told me your name.”
“It seems my mind isn’t as sharp as I thought it was.” She looked over her shoulder at him, a full-blown smile on her face. “My name is Regan. Welcome to Oklahoma.”
With that, she hobbled from the room, leaving Angus alone once again.
Not for long, though, because less than ten minutes after Regan left, another woman entered the room, the smile on her face not at all hesitant. She was in her thirties and pretty, with wavy blonde hair that stopped at her shoulders and big, brown eyes.
“There’s my patient. It’s nice to see you awake,” she said when she stopped at his side. “I have to be honest, I wasn’t sure you were going to pull through. Despite how adamant Naya was.”
“You the doc?” Angus asked.
“Yes. Or as close as it gets these days.” Her smile widened, and she held her hand out. “I’m Beth.”
“Angus,” he said, taking her hand and giving it a shake.
“Angus James.” She shook her head, her smile not fading. “I’ve heard plenty of stories about you and The Church, but I never thought I’d meet you. I mean, the fact that you’re still alive is crazy enough, but—” Her gaze swept over him again. “You don’t look old enough.”
“I feel it,” he said, wincing when he shifted.
Beth let out a little laugh. “After what you’ve been through, a little pain is to be expected.” She paused and looked him over, her expression turning more serious. Almost professional. “For the most part, you’re healed, although we’re going to have to keep an eye on that arm. The lion got out a good chunk of flesh before you managed to kill him.” Her eyes sparkled and she winked. “Don’t worry. We put the carcass to good use.”
A grin broke out of Angus. “You eat him?”
“We did,” she replied, returning his smile. “And he was delicious.”
Angus chuckled, shaking his head.
“Since you seem to have some sort of superhuman ability to heal, there isn’t really much I can do for you other than advise lots of rest, water, and as much food as you think you can keep down. You’ve been out for a while, and you’ve lost quite a bit of weight. It’s going to take some time to get your energy back.”
Even though part of him felt like it had all happened yesterday, another part felt like years had passed. “How long?”
“A little more than two weeks.”
Angus let out a low whistle. “Can’t believe it.”
“You got lucky,” Beth said. “Our people—”
“Angus?”
His attention was drawn from the doctor by Naya’s soft voice. She was standing in the doorway, her big, brown eyes shimmering with concern, and despite the earlier fatherly feeling that had rushed over him, Angus was totally unprepared for the emotion welling up in his throat at the sight of her. It was nothing, however, compared to the rush of love that came over him a moment later.
Naya took one hesitant step toward him, pausing for only a second before running across the room and throwing her arms around him. He didn’t hesitate to hug her back, didn’t care that the impact her small body made against his caused pain to radiate through him, because he was too focused on the emotion welling up inside him. On the lump clogging his throat and the tears stinging his eyes, and the way his heart swelled as if overwhelmed by the magnitude of his feelings for this girl. They’d just met, but they’d been through so much already, and she’d saved his life twice now.
“You’re okay,” she whispered.
“Thanks to you,” he replied.
Naya pulled back and looked him over, and he did the same with her. She was sitting next to him on the bed, clean and healthy-looking, her cheeks seemingly fuller than they’d been the last time he saw her. She was wearing fresh clothes that actually fit her, and her dark hair was clean and braided. It hung down the center of her back, thick and lustrous. Like her. The locket was around her neck and hanging free, not tucked away like she’d kept it while they traveled. The little bit of light in the room illuminated the delicately etched flowers on the surface, seeming to make them dance when Naya moved.
“I was so scared,” she said, blinking like she was fighting back tears. “I couldn’t get you to move, and it was getting dark. You told me to leave you.” A tear fell from her eye and slid down her cheek. “I didn’t want to, but I didn’t know what to do.”
She let out a little hiccup as if on the verge of losing control.
“Hey,” he said, reaching up to wipe the tear away, “don’t you worry. I understand. You did right.”
Naya sniffed and rubbed her nose on her forearm. “I was yelling for you to get up. That’s how they found me.”
Her gaze moved to Beth, who’d been listening in silence.
“We were on our way back to the shelter when we found you,” the doctor explained. “You got lucky, really. We hadn’t planned on going out, but the weather was so nice, and we didn’t want to let the day go to waste, so we went fishing. We were able to get you back to the shelter just before the sun set.”
Naya wiped her nose again. “We found it, Angus. It’s real. Just like Mom said it was.”
That statement took Angus longer to grasp. He was still thinking back to the attack, remembering how Naya had managed to keep him on his feet despite his injuries, despite his semi-conscious state. But then, the words sank in and he looked around the room again, suddenly realizing why the place looked familiar. It was a shelter just like the one he’d stayed in for a short time more than eighty years ago. It was real. Naya’s mom had been right all along.
Angus focused on Beth. “This is one of them luxury shelters?”
“It is.” The doctor shrugged, giving him a wry smile. “I’m afraid it’s mostly useless at this point. We’re able to generate enough energy using the wind turbine to keep the air filtration system going, which allows us to sleep inside at night, but it’s been close to a decade since we had running water, and forget lightbulbs. I’m afraid that’s a thing of the past.”
“They live outside during the day,” Naya told him, “on the surface.”
“We’ve built a pretty nice little town.” Beth let out a musical laugh. “Although most of that was done long before I was born, back when the rest of my great-grandparents were alive.”
“Great-grandparents?” Angus asked.
“Regan is Beth’s great-grandma,” Naya explained.
“She and my great-grandpa on my dad’s side came here together,” Beth added. “My great-grandparents on my mom’s side were already here. Anyway, after the zombies died off, they started adding buildings on the surface for animals and other things. Then the CDC fell, it got harder to find basic supplies, and they realized they were eventually going to have to move out of the shelter for good, so they started building houses. If it wasn’t for the creatures, we would live on the surface full time. The shelter was probably pretty nice eighty years ago, but without electricity, it’s inconvenient.” She waved to the candle on the bedside table. “No windows and only candles make it difficult, as you can see.”
Angus mulled over everything she’d said, but his attention turned to Naya when she grabbed his hand.
“We can have a home here. A life.” She squeezed his hand. “Do you want to see it?”
Angus wasn’t totally sure how far underground he was, and the climb to the surface would be difficult—exhausting, even—but he wanted to try.
“Let’s go,” he said, pushing himself to the edge of the bed and throwing his legs over.
Beth straightened. “Are you sure you want to do that?”
Angus only nodded.
He was on the first level dedicated to living quarters, which was still several stories underground, and after weeks of lying around, climbing four flights of stairs took Angus longer than he liked. He had to pause at each turn, clinging to the banister and taking deep breaths to calm his breathing. His legs felt wobbly and uncertain, and he was already dreading the return trip, but he was ready to see the sun again.
Beth led the way, holding a candle and staying only a couple steps ahead of him, while Naya stayed at his side the entire time, clinging to his arm like she was the only thing keeping him up. He was starting to think she was.
“You sure you’re ready for this?” she asked when they paused again—only one flight to go before they made it to the common area.
“I can do it,” he replied, gasping but determined.
Naya tightened her grip on his arm when he started walking again.
He paused when they reached the next level, but this time it was only partly to catch his breath. The candle cast a soft glow, barely illuminating the room, but Angus didn’t need it. The space looked exactly like the one from the shelter he’d briefly called home—although more worn. It had been sleek and modern back then, decorated in bright reds and blues, with a bar to his left and a theater room to his right. The couches that used to sit here were gone—moved to the surface—but the pool table was still present. Angus could remember leaning against the bar and watching Darla bend over, pool cue in hand and her round ass on display. He remembered being up in the middle of the night reading when Vivian had come in. They’d hated each other at that point, but that hadn’t stopped her from getting him a drink when she’d poured one for herself. He also remembered the night they’d had to flee. The close calls, the men he’d had to kill so they could escape, the fire burning in the lower levels, the terror, and later, after they’d made it out, watching Axl get shot.
The rush of memories nearly took his breath away. “Let’s keep goin’.”
Beth started walking again, candle raised to light their way. They passed the bar and moved into what had once been the computer room. The useless machines had been removed, and shelves now lined the walls, filled to the brim with jars of food and other items. Past that, they went up another short staircase, but this one didn’t wind Angus the way the others had. It had more to do with the fact that he was distracted by the familiarity of the shelter than anything, though.
From there, they moved to an industrial-looking hallway, passing what had been the control room. At the end of the hall, the small holding cell came into view. Angus had forgotten all about it, but he recalled how they’d used the room when someone in their group had gotten scratched. Too much time had passed to remember the man’s name, but he did recall how adamant Hadley had been about not killing the guy right away. She’d sworn up and down that people could be immune to a scratch or a bite. No one had believed her, but they’d humored her anyway. The guy had turned, of course, but Hadley hadn’t been wrong, either. The memory made Angus smile.
He waved toward the open door of the small room. “Why’d you take me all the way down to a condo if you had that?”
“We figured it would be more comfortable,” Beth said, “Plus, it was farther away from the general population at night. We thought it was the safer option.”
“Makes sense,” he said.
They reached the last—and longest—staircase then. Here, Beth paused, looking at him for confirmation, and Angus nodded once. He was ready to be out of this shelter where the ghosts of his friends felt suddenly more present and overwhelming than ever before.
The final climb was the hardest, but Angus never once faltered. Naya didn’t release him, and her constant presence at his side seemed to energize him. Still, he was huffing by the time they reached the small cement shelter on the surface.
The door was shut, and Beth paused before opening it, looking back to make sure Angus was ready. He slipped on the sunglasses she’d given him before nodding, and she pushed the door open.
Bright light streamed in, magnified by the dry, dusty ground, and Angus was assaulted by the sound of people talking and laughing. Behind the heavily tinted frames, he was squinting, but not so much that he couldn’t make out the scene in front of him. Naya hadn’t exaggerated when she’d said this place was like a town. Dozens of small buildings stretched out in front of him, and he turned to find even more at his back. They’d been built in a circle, with the shelter at the very center, and there weren’t just houses. There were animal pens and barns made of metal sheets with thick doors that had clearly been designed to protect the livestock from the creatures. Cows, goats by the dozens, sheep, and chickens. Even a few horses. Here and there fires blazed, large pots or the body of some animal hanging over the flames. Clothes hung on lines, slowly drying under the bright, Oklahoma sun, and children chased each other, playing while their parents fed the animals, made repairs to their homes, or did other random chores. Everywhere he looked, there were people. Old and young, men and women, all races. It was overwhelming after years alone.
“Nice, right?” Naya said, smiling up at him—still holding on to his arm.
“Can’t believe there are so many people,” Angus replied.
“Over two hundred of us now,” Beth said.
Two hundred.
Angus thought back to those days on the road with Vivian, after they left New Atlanta. She’d suggested they go west and try to find
one of the other shelters, but she’d died before they could. He’d wandered this way, though, but stumbling upon this little town in the middle of nowhere had to be like finding a needle in a haystack.
Naya had, though. Not only that, but she’d found him when she needed help. A lone man who’d been traveling on his own for decades. There was no Earthly reason why she should have found him the way she had. What would have happened to her if he hadn’t been there that day? Would she have been able to put her mother down on her own, or would she have been killed? If he’d searched Oklahoma all those years ago until finally stumbling upon this place, would Naya have ever made it here, or was it possible Parv had been right all along? Was saving Naya the reason he was still alive after all this time? Did he really have a purpose?
“You okay?” Beth asked when too much silence had stretched out.
Angus’s gaze moved over the little town and the people who were hard at work, then shifted to Naya. The girl wasn’t looking at him, but she was smiling. And she was still clinging to him. The expression on her face, coupled with her hand on his arm, tugged at his heart. He had no clue how much more time he had on this Earth, but he knew one thing. He was glad to be here. He’d thought he was cursed, had thought he was living a version of hell that had been created just for him, but all that had changed. He’d had more love in his life than any one person deserved. Especially a bastard like him. Yes, there had been bad times, painful times, but he’d grown through them. Changed. All the pain and loneliness had helped mold him into the person he was now. A man who appreciated every moment he was given, who could love with his whole heart, who treasured every raw emotion he felt. He was Angus James. Son, brother, bastard, asshole, racist, lover, father, husband, friend. Human. And he was exactly where he was meant to be.
“Angus?” Beth prompted.
Broken World | Novel | Angus Page 43